Asylum seekers from the Balkans: Statistical data Table 1: Asylum - - PDF document

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Presentation: Freedom of movement in a populist age - Why Balkan visa liberalisation is (still) a success Brussels, 1 July 2011

Asylum seekers from the Balkans: Statistical data

Table 1: Asylum seekers from Western Balkans countries in the EU, 2008 - 20101 While the number of asylum claimants in the EU slightly decreased from 2009 to 2010, the number of asylum seekers from Serbia and Macedonia, two countries that were granted visa- free travel in 2009, increased considerably.

2008 2009 2010 Albania (visa requirement in place in 2010) 1,130 2,060 1,905 Bosnia (visa requirement in place in 2010) 955 1,320 2,105 Macedonia (visa-free in 2010) 815 940 7,550 (+ 803%) Montenegro (visa-free in 2010) 280 250 405 Serbia (visa-free in 2010) 13,540* 5,290 17,715 (+ 335%) Kosovo (visa requirement in place)

• 14,275

14,285 In comparison: Afghanistan 10,145 20,455 (top in 2009) 20,580 (top in 2010) In comparison: Iraq 27,580 (top in 2008) 18,940 15,800 All countries (non- EU) TOTAL 225,870 265,845 257,815

* This figure includes the applicants from Kosovo.

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Eurostat database, Asylum and new asylum applicants by citizenship, age and sex, Annual aggregated data (rounded), online data code: migr_asyappctza.

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Table 2: Asylum seekers in the EU in 20102 Serbia was the country where the third-largest number of asylum seekers in the EU in 2010

• riginated, and Macedonian ranked 9.

Non-EU 257 815

• 1. Afghanistan (AF)

20 580

• 2. Russia (RU)

18 500

• 3. Serbia (RS)

17 715

• 4. Iraq (IQ)

15 800

• 5. Somalia (SO)

14 350

• 6. Kosovo (XK)

14 285

• 7. Iran (IR)

10 310

• 8. Pakistan (PK)

9 180

• 9. Macedonia (MK)

7 550

• 10. Georgia (GE)

6 860

• 11. Nigeria (NG)

6 745

• 12. Turkey (TR)

6 335

• 13. Sri Lanka (LK)

6 300

• 14. Bangladesh (BD)

6 175

• 15. China (CN)

5 655

• 16. Armenia (AM)

5 515

• 17. Dem. Rep. of Congo (CD)

5 360

• 18. Syria (SY)

5 010

• 19. Guinea (GN)

4 830

• 20. Eritrea (ER)

4 520

• 21. Algeria (DZ)

3 575

• 22. India (IN)

3 175

• 23. Zimbabwe (ZW)

2 615

• 24. Vietnam (VN)

2 320

• 25. Sudan (SD)

2 290

• 26. Stateless

2 215

• 27. Haiti (HT)

2 130

• 28. Bosnia (BA)

2 095

• 29. Azerbaijan (AZ)

2 075

• 30. Albania (AL)

1 900 Montenegro 405 Other non-EU 41 450 EU citizens 1 260

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Eurostat, Asylum applicants and first instance decisions on asylum applications in 2010, Data in focus 5/2011, 29 March 2011, p. 7, at http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-QA-11- 005/EN/KS-QA-11-005-EN.PDF.

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Table 3a: Distribution of Serbian and Macedonian asylum claimants among EU countries in 20103 In 2010, Germany, Sweden and Belgium were the three main EU countries of destination for asylum seekers from Serbia and Macedonia. Seven other member states experienced a low influx of asylum seekers; the remaining 17 EU countries registered 0 to less than 100 claimants from Macedonia and Serbia. This means that the Macedonian and Serbian asylum seekers did not cause a crisis in the EU, but in three member states.

2009 2010 2009 2010

Germany

1,050 10,340

UK

20 15

Sweden

675 7,155

Greece

5 10

Belgium

1,325 3,960

Romania

20 10

France

1,055 1,395

Slovakia

25 10

Austria

890 560

Czech Rep.

5 5

Italy

230 595

Bulgaria Netherlands

70 455

Estonia Denmark

160 285

Ireland Finland

50 175

Latvia Luxembourg

20 165

Lithuania Hungary

585 70

Malta Cyprus

170 45

Portugal Slovenia

25 15

Poland

5

Spain

10 15

TOTAL

6,395 25,280

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Eurostat database, Asylum and new asylum applicants by citizenship, age and sex, Annual aggregated data (rounded), online data code: migr_asyappctza

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Table 3b: Distribution of asylum applicants from SERBIA among EU countries in 20104 In 2010, applications from Serbian nationals in Germany, Sweden and Belgium accounted for 86 percent of all Macedonian applications in the EU’s 27 member states. Germany 6,795 38% = 86% Sweden 6,255 35% Belgium 2,220 13% France 765 4% Italy 495 3% Other 1,185 7% TOTAL 17,715 100% Table 3c: Distribution of asylum applicants from MACEDONIA among EU countries in 20105 In 2010, applications from Macedonian nationals in Germany, Sweden and Belgium accounted for 82 percent of all Macedonian applications in the EU’s 27 member states. Germany 3,545 47% = 82% Belgium 1,740 23% Sweden 900 12% France 595 8% Netherlands 390 5% Other 380 5% TOTAL 7,550 100%

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Eurostat, Asylum applicants and first instance decisions on asylum applications in 2010, Data in focus 5/2011, 29 March 2011, p. 7, at http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-QA-11- 005/EN/KS-QA-11-005-EN.PDF

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Eurostat, Asylum applicants and first instance decisions on asylum applications in 2010, Data in focus 5/2011, 29 March 2011, p. 7, at http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-QA-11- 005/EN/KS-QA-11-005-EN.PDF

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Table 4a: Asylum seekers from SERBIA in Belgium, Germany and Sweden in the EU6 In the course of 2010, Germany, Sweden and Belgium experienced two peaks in the influx of asylum seekers from Serbia. The first occurred in the February to March period, and the second between September and November 2010. In Belgium, the fluctuations were less pronounced than in the other two countries, and Germany mainly experienced the second peak.

Table 4b: Asylum seekers from MACEDONIA in Belgium, Germany and Sweden in the EU7

Similarly, there were two peaks in the influx of Macedonian asylum seekers into Belgium, Sweden and Germany: in February/March and in September-November 2010. In the spring, the influx into Belgium, and in the autumn, the influx into Germany, were strongest.

6

Eurostat database, Asylum and new asylum applicants by citizenship, age and sex, Monthly data (rounded), online data code: migr_asyappctzm

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Eurostat database, Asylum and new asylum applicants by citizenship, age and sex, Monthly data (rounded), online data code: migr_asyappctzm

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Table 5a: International protection granted at the administrative (first-instance) level in 2010 (Refugee status, subsidiary protection or humanitarian protection8) Almost all of the asylum requests from Serbian and Macedonian nationals were rejected at the first, administrative level in 2010. The EU does not grant asylum either for poverty or for general discrimination; the claimant must be able to prove that he personally and individually was threatened. Serbian asylum seekers Macedonian asylum seekers Sweden9 0.7% (41 out of 5,515 persons whose claims were decided) 1.1% (8 out of 709 persons whose claims were decided) Germany10 0.6% (31 out of 5,245 persons whose claims were decided) 0.2% (7 out of 2,925 persons whose claims were decided) Belgium11* 8.7% (74 out of 848 decided cases) 2.1% (13 out of 606 decided cases) EU2712** 2.7% (310 out of 11,635 persons whose claims were decided) 1.3% (60 out of 4,535 persons whose claims were decided)

*Please note that Sweden and Germany count all persons, including children, while Belgium does NOT count children. ** Please note that the EU figure does not include Luxembourg.

Refugee status is the highest form of international protection. Under EU asylum legislation, which is based on the 1951 UN Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, EU member states are committed to offering asylum, also called refugee status, to third-country nationals that have “a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group” in their home country.13

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Council Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004 on minimum standards for the qualification and status

• f third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise need

international protection and the content of the protection granted, at http://eur- lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004L0083:EN:HTML.

9

ESI email correspondence with the Swedish Migration Board, 27 May 2011.

10

ESI email correspondence with the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, 8 March 2011.

11

ESI email correspondence with the Belgian Commissariat-General for Refugees and Stateless Persons, 26 May 2011.

12

Eurostat database, First instance decisions on applications by citizenship, age and sex, Annual aggregated data (rounded), data online code: migr_asydcfsta.

13

Council Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004 on minimum standards for the qualification and status

• f third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise need

international protection and the content of the protection granted, at http://eur- lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004L0083:EN:HTML.

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Subsidiary protection is accorded to people who face “risks of serious harm” at home, but who do not meet the UN definition of refugee. The relevant EU Directive defines “serious harm” as “(a) death penalty or execution; or (b) torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of an applicant in the country of origin; or (c) serious and individual threat to a civilian's life or person by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict.”14 There is also protection on humanitarian grounds, also defined as “compassionate grounds”, which can cover a wide range of situations. It is at the discretion of EU member states to grant it. The authorities can decide, for example, not to send back a person suffering from a serious disease that cannot be treated in his or her home country.15 Table 6: Asylum seekers from Serbia and Macedonia in the EU in 2011 During the first few months of 2011, the numbers of asylum seekers from Serbia and Macedonia remained high, though they were somewhat lower than in 2010. Jan. 2011 Feb. 2011 March 2011 April 2011 Monthly average 2009 Monthly average 2010 EU-27* Serbians 1,225 1,190 n.a. n.a. 441 1,476 Macedonians 410 390 n.a. n.a. 78 629 Belgium16** Serbians 129 126 183 106 43 127 Macedonians 71 104 86 100 17 90 Germany17 Serbians 666 516 478 317 74 566 Macedonians 142 104 205 168 13 296 Sweden18 Serbians 116 176 266 172 49 529 Macedonians 43 47 97 262 8 76

* The data from the Czech Republic is missing, but given that the number of asylum seekers from the Balkans in the Czech Republic has been virtually zero over the years, this will not significantly change the total, if at all. ** The Belgian refugee authority, which has provided these figures, does not count children, but only adults. All

• ther figures in this table include children.

14

Ibid.

15

Council Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004 on minimum standards for the qualification and status

• f third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise need

international protection and the content of the protection granted, at http://eur- lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004L0083:EN:HTML.

16

ESI email correspondence with the Belgian Commissariat-General for Refugees and Stateless Persons, 26 May 2011.

17

ESI email correspondence with the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, 19 May 2011.

18

ESI email correspondence with the Swedish Migration Board, 27 May 2011.

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Table 7: Asylum seekers from Albania and Bosnia in the EU in 2011 The visa requirement for Albanians and Bosnians was lifted on 15 December 2010, and there was fear of a new wave of asylum seekers from the Balkans. However, during the first few months of 2011, there was only a very slight increase. Jan. 2011 Feb. 2011 March 2011 April 2011 Monthly average 2009 Monthly average 2010 EU-27* Albanians 120 135 n.a. n.a. 172 159 Bosnians 85 95 n.a. n.a. 110 175 Belgium** Albanians 16 19 24 35 21 17 Bosnians 12 2 10 14 8 9 Germany Albanians 6

• 2

13 5 4 Bosnians 22 19 18 13 21 30 Sweden Albanians 8 11 16 25 10 5 Bosnians 19 22 13 14 11 10

* The data from the Czech Republic is missing, but given that the number of asylum seekers from the Balkans in the Czech Republic has been virtually zero over the years, this will not significantly change the total, if at all. ** The Belgian refugee authority, which has provided these figures, does not count children, but only adults. All

• ther figures in this table include children.